Friday, October 28, 2011

The carving, the depulping, the MESS! No, this tidy little flasher is more up my alley, except we have kids ringing our doorbell, so the Ghord Flasher won't be on our front porch - maybe he'll be on yours :-)

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Above is the British model David Gandy, often an inspiration for my heroes, as taken by Mariano Vivanco. If found it on Homotography and it's in Attitude mag﻿azine.

By the way, a picture book called David Gandy by Dolce and Gabbana with photography by Mariano Vivanco is now available and very pricey - you might want to check out Homotography for a hint of what you see inside.

All year I see books and ebooks that I want to ready and buy them, or put them on the birthday list in hopes someone takes the chance I haven't succombed to the pull of a particular book and purchased it already. It's difficult not to do because most in my family have been burnt before so bypass the books on my list. Well, I've been working on that particular impulse and am stepping back for the Christmas list to hold the weight of what I want and it just received a mighty tome.

Catherine the Great by Robert K Massie will be released this November 8th [in hardcover and kindle] and I am putting it on my list.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I love Christian Louboutin shoes. The man designs spectacular heels that complete an ensemble to a top degree and the bright red sole is wickedly divine.

By the way, yes, I think he owns that trend and it should belong to him, everyone else is an imitator - an unflattering copy-cat! Sorry, little personal rant there :-)

Okay, back on the freaky good or icky bad shoe path.

However, I recently came upon one of his more unique creations called the Paw Heel and they were starting to grow on me. They were different and kind romantic in an odd way - they made me think of Beauty and the Beast, not sure why, but they did.

Anyway, there I was finding the fun and then I saw a picture of someone wearing them out in public. Now, I'm not sure if they are just not for me or not for anyone. Did the peson wearing them have bad feet or was that my perception of how they looked at that time?

I'm confused.

What do you think?

Actually, the more I look at them being worn, the more they remind me of those supposedly comfoy shoes where the toes are all separate.

I don't know, but there may be a shapeshifter book hidden in those stilettoes! Ooo, plot bunny, are there any bunny shoes running around?

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones is open at the Bard Graduate Center through April 15th and is accompanied by a book - very thoughtful for those of us who enjoy picking up a reminder of such a wonderful show.

The Museum at FIT has 100 pieces of Daphne Guinness's [yes, she one of those Guinnesses] clothes and explores the depths of her addiction to fashion through January 7. Addiction is a strong word, but I'll be honest, it fits because what Guinness owns are like works of art.

I went in search of Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel on Amazon and found a note of praise that resonated with me and most likely does with fashion affictionados around the world. It said: Praise for Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel: “Before there was Daphne Guinness, before there was Lady Gaga, there was the original style setter. A new book takes a look at the career and influence of the woman who made fashion modern.” from Town & Country

Monday, October 17, 2011

I wear them, lots of people weat them, but are you looking at them in this ad for Harvey Haydon by Sabine Villiard as found on Homotography?

It's called the You'd Be Naked Without Those Spectacles and while I like the glasses, I'm still trying to figure out what's tattooed on his stomach, between his Apollo's belt or Adonis's - take your pick.

By the way, I believe the word is either Varitas or Vanitas. I can't find anything on the former and the latter is a symbolic art from the 16-17th Centuries. However, my best guess would be that it's actually Veritas who was the Roman goddess of truth.

As before, my eyes aren't going to where they were supposed to go, but in this case, I'm reminded it's time for an eye exam!

Friday, October 14, 2011

From our front porch, I look out and find one tree's leaves already red and will finish dropping over the next few days while the other will remain full and green for at least another month. It's beautiful, but think of me blowing leaves through December! Thank goodness our town sucks them up from the side of the road - yeah, no bagging!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

I was flicking through Elle the other day and came across a page called Highlands Heroine. There were tartan skirts, boots, sweaters and more, but at the bottom was a section called Wear It With, and I wondered if my hero from Highland Heat, Hamish Buchanan, would be upset by bags made of fuzzy soft lamb's wool?

Have you read Highland Heat? What do you think the sexy highlander would do if he an attractive woman walked by him carrying one of these expensive bags?

Monday, October 10, 2011

I never thought this would happen to me, but I have two erotic romances releasing this month – within four days of each other – and from two different publishers!

Eeek, I’m floored, excited, and definitely celebrating by offering a contest. More on that later.

For now, let me talk a bit about my novels. They are as different as they come – except for the steamy sex and Alpha heroes to die for. One is an erotic contemporary ménage, the other is an erotic paranormal. Here’s the cover art, blurb and buy link (with excerpt) for each. :-)

At a Phoenix gentleman’s club, Lea dances as SiNN, her body bared and vulnerable to her male partner, her features hidden behind a feathered mask. To the men watching, she’s a sensual enigma, submissive and seductive with no face, name or history. Not even Lea knows her real origins.

A man from the past does and wants her dead.

Not on the watch of U.S. Marshals Jake Gabriel and Toby Quinn. Commanding and decisive, Jake not only wants Lea’s safety but to have her naked and yielding beneath him. To Toby, she’s all he should resist but cannot.

Protected by them at a secluded estate, Lea’s drawn to their potent masculinity and the raw male lust in their eyes. Inviting desire and an emotional connection, she submits to both at once, surrendering to their most shameless hunger along with her own wanton needs.

From a portal in his lab on E2, one of the five dimensions of Earth, quantum physicist Nikoli Zorr gazes on everything forbidden to him. Passion. Desire. The exquisite pleasure of running his hands over the lush curves of a young woman he should have stopped watching weeks ago.

His duty is to close the portals that keep the monsters out of E2—and never interfere with the inevitable fate of those on the other side. Yet he can’t bring himself to abandon the woman who has captured his soul.

Psychologist Regina Page is trying to keep her mind on her client, and off the mysterious, unbearable sexual cravings that consume her when she’s alone in her bedroom. The next moment she’s attacked by vampires, then swept into another realm by a stranger whose touch awakens that same raw desire. Whose eyes are already filled with farewell.

Yet beneath their undeniable carnal lust, something else stirs. The beginnings of illicit love. The unexpected need to protect him. Even if it means risking body, blood and soul to defeat the merciless horde…for a future that was never meant to be.

Product WarningsContains a repressed scientist who likes to look, and the woman who delights in unleashing his inner caveman. And sex hot enough to burn a hole in all three dimensions…and maybe create a whole new one.

Tina Donahue is an award-winning, bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing and Kensington. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work; she has reached finals and/or placed in numerous RWA–sponsored contests. Three of her erotic novels were named finalists in the 2011 EPIC competition. Sensual Stranger, her erotic romance, was chosen Book of the Year 2010 (erotic category) at the French review site, Blue Moon reviews. The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for her erotic romance Lush Velvet Nights; and Deep, Dark, Delicious (erotic romance) recently received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition (2011). She was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

This pic of Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers depicts why I'm thrilled the lockout from earlier this year was resolved. Did you know Matthews was born a So Cal boy and later became a Trojan? Nice!

Thank you Muscle and Fitness Magazine for picking such a wonderful photo for your cover, although I prefer it without all the words covering the subject. It's also nice to see, I mean know, how fit these players are sans pads.

By the way, you can enjoy the cover models gallery from the shoot here - again, ta very much, Muscle and Fitness!

Saturday, October 01, 2011

The most ridiculous challenge for a book to be found on a shelf is Banned Books by Robert P Doyle. It was banned from a display at Spotswood High School in Harrisonburg [VA - 1999] when a parent decided that "some materials listed in the publication were inappropriate for students."

Neither the book nor any of the books listed were required reading, but it was still deemed inappropriate.

Wow!

There you have it - the ugly side of society - but the light has begun to shine more brightly with the onset of eBooks. Many of the challeneged/banned books are starting to show up in a different format that can't, as yet, be banned. So, go forth and read with pleasure what others are trying to bury.

Visit the ALA to find out more about Banned Books Week and maybe pick up the latest copy of the Banned Books Week Resource Guide. In the guide you will find what been challened and/or banned over the years and why.